Kebab… Biryani … Mandi … Zurbiyan …
Are you familiar with this kind of dishes?
Well, that is just a slice of Middle East cuisines. Since Middle East region has diverse homogeneity, the culinary also gets a lot of influence from Arab, Iranian, Israel, Jewish, Armenia, Greek, Turkey, and any other country in Middle East area. In Jakarta, Indonesia, Middle East cuisines are quite popular, especially among Moslem because all of the food is Moslem friendly and halal.
So, where to enjoy tasty Middle East Cuisine? Here I would like to share with you my Middle East culinary experience : )
My first time coming to Middle East restaurant for having iftar with colleagues during Ramadan season in 2019. We have already done the reservation via telephone two days before the day. When the day came, we hope to be seated on the floor covered by carpet (in Indonesian language, we call “Lesehan”), but the space has already been booked for an event. We were quite dissapointed, it was not because we did not get the “lesehan” space, but because they provided long table for us using buffet table where we could find in an event. That was not comfortable at all. Luckily, they had one empty VIP / private room, so that we moved there.
Here are what we tried in Sentral Al Jazeerah :
Mandi Laham (IDR 141,750)
A big plate of marinated rice with Arabian spices that suits for sharing among 3-4 people. The topping choices are lamb and chicken. We chose the lamb. We got two pieces lamb along with samin oil and safron. The yellow rice is quite fragrant, not in a strong herbs. The lamb is so tender, thick, and good.
Shawarma Chicken on Plate (IDR 86,625)
Arabian styled “kebab” that we could choose the serving with or without rice and either with chicken or lamb. This menu is also served on a big plate, consisting of lavash bread as the base with chicken, vegetables, and fries. This menu is totally RECOMMENDED! I love it! Rip the lavash bread, then fill it with chicken, vegetables along with the savoury and salty fries, then roll it and put into your mouth. Tastes so good!
And this is the ambiance inside Sentral Al Jazeerah
This restaurant has Middle East decoration and ambiance. Abunawas consists of two floors with two kind of seating. There are the common seating with table and chair, and the other one is sitting on the carpet with a small sofa in a private room covered by curtains. For the main course with rice, they provide Mandi, Briyani, Zurbiyan rice with the topping lamb, fish, or chicken. They also provide some vegetarian menu.
Here are what we tried in Abunawas :
Zurbiyan Lahm (IDR 115,000)
Zurbiyan is a typical Middle East rice with its herbs and savoury taste. We chose Zurbiyan with Lahm (lamb). The rice is fragrant with its light savory taste and two big tender lambs that have similar texture with beef. A portion of this menu suits for sharing among 3 - 4 persons.
Kebab Dajaj (IDR 95,000)
We chose kebab with Dajaj (chicken). A plate of kebab served separately with chicken, french fries, and sliced onions.
How to eat this?
Put the chicken, french fries, along with the sliced onions on the kebab skin. Then roll and enjoy it. I love the chicken! It tastes so good!
Umm Ali (IDR 38,000)
It is the time for Middle East dessert! This sweet “closing” is recommended by my friend who is a fan of Abunawas Restaurant and currently living in the US. Umm Ali is served hot, made by goat milk with sliced bread, raisins, and sprinkled with cinnamons.The texture is creamy and overall this dessert is similar with bread and butter pudding.